"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٨‎٧‎٤] (١٧٨٢/١٠٢٩)

£5333
fi :
Second visit
of the cx-
shaikh to
Bushehr,
December
1843 to
Marcli 1844.
874
fjiveu to the Wahhabis, which mi^
which would be afforded to Persia for
light lead to an invasion by them of
'Oman territory; the excuse whi(
espousing the cause of the ex -Shaikh ; and the veto which had alreadj
been placed by the British Government on action by the Shaikhs of
Sharjah and Dibai.
In December 1843 the ex.-Shaikh 'Abdullah, accompanied by six
armed vessels, again visited Bushehr with the object of influencing
the British political representative in his favour; but he declined to
agree to an interview on board a vessel in the harbour, chiefly, it was
suspected, because he meant to make use of a visit to the llesidency as
a screen for a secret meeting with his sympathiser Shaikh Salman. He
proceeded however to press, in writing, a request for British assistance,
mainly on the grounds that he had rejected overtures by the Wahhabi
Amir which tended to the establishment of Wahhabi influence over
Bahrain, and that he was entitled, as a signatory of the General Treaty
of Peace, to the naval protection of Great Britain. These arguments,
howevei were refuted ; and the claims of the ex-Shaikh to British aid
were disaf^wed.
A few da;s after his arrival at Bushehr Shaikh ^Abdullah landed and
was received with much distinction by the local authorities, probably
under orders from Shiraz ; three volleys of musketry were fired in his
honour by the Persian regular troops ; and he was provided with quarters
in a bastion ol the fortifications, his followers being at the same time
accommodated in tents. His vessels, of which only two now remained, were
brought into a backwater and drawn up on shore. It was soon rumoured
that Shaikh 'Abdullah had applied to the Persian Government for the loan
of (00 mounted men and 500 ufantry, and that he had offered, if success
ful in leco-vcring Bahrain, to repay the expenses of this force, to remit in
future a large annual tribute to the Shah, and to leave one of his sons
in Persia as a hostage for fulfilment of the contract. For three months
Shaikh 'Abdullah lingered at Bushehr, awaiting, but in vain, the
acceptance of his proposals by the Persian Government.
In January 1844 the Shaikh, in a correspondence with the British
Resident, resorted to the argument that he had been lulled into a
false security, while still in possession of Bahrain, by the neglect of the
British authorities to reply to certain of his communications-a conten-
tion which was not admitted; and immediately before his departure,
probably in March 1844, he had a personal interview with the Resident,
at which he again pleaded hard, but unsuccessfully, for the countenance of
the British Government. It was clear that the hopes which he had at
rn p aced in the Persian Government had been disappointed.